Chain of Hearts
by Aya Hinata
Summary: We know very little about the members of Organization XIII. This is the story of Hikari Tokaqouwa, who's best friend died one year ago, and of Axel who became a Nobody that very same night.
1. The Forgotten

Author: My first Kingdom Hearts fanfiction. Oh god I'm so excited! n.n So what if there's Disney? That won't stop me from doing this! I will try updating my other fanfiction. They are coming along slowly but surely and Tohru's Friend will be updated soon. And TCR too.

Warning: Violence. Angst. Swearing. Drama Romance

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts 1 OR 2. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney.  
Claimer: I DO own this fic though.

_

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Memories without a heart.  
A heart without Memories.  
You're a Nobody looking for your past.  
Do you remember your **TRUE **name..? **

* * *

Chain øf Hearts  
Chapter 1: The Forgotten **_

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The sunset was shining beautifully upon the town. From the sidewalk in the park, I had the perfect view of watching the sight of the shine making hipnotizing colors upon the surface of the ocean from the beach that was right next to me. Every evening on my way home from my college. I was the kind of girl who preferred a house to a small dorm room. And there was no room mate to bother me. 

I had been in college for about a year or so. Even in college we had to wear uniforms. But thankfully that was optional. I preferred my own outfit. It was a red T-shirt and black skintight capris. Well that was today's outfit anyway. I liked the color of red and black. Had it's own personality to it... Plus it also reminded me of...  
**_  
_**Anyway, my name is Hikari. Hikari Tokagouwa. With blue shoulder length hair and blue eyes to match. My life seemed so boring. More boring than I ever could imagine. However... Strange things had been happening, recently. Stranger things than I could comprehend. But I'll save that for later.

I walked out of the park and onto my block. Passing doors and alleyways. My eyes closed a moment and felt that I was passing a strange dark presence. I opened my eyes and looked back behind me. Nothing was there. Nothing at all. So I shrugged and kept going.

Many people called Kodani _The City of Ghosts_. However, some didn't believe in that sort of thing. One thing I do know is that I believe that might be true. Because at that very moment. I could have sworn I saw one.

I finally reached my door. Opened it and went in. Kicking my shoes off and dropping my back before going into my living room and collapsing on the couch. I layed back, thinking. I looked at the clock. 5:15 PM. I was thinking of getting up to make myself dinner. But before I could do that I drifted off into sleep.

**_

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Then_**

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The vacation of summer was barely beginning, and I was 18. I was walking beside a dear friend of mine. He had spikish red hair, with green eyes to match. I always teased him about his hair. I used to call him "Alex the Hedgehog" when we were little. Due to our haircolors, people always referred to us with the nicknames of Fire and Ice. Alex being Fire and me being Ice. 

Alex loved the color black and red. Understandable really since he was always a punk at heart. And we were bestfriends... until the end.

It was night, and we were walking back home. We lived right next door to eachother so it was no biggy. We had to go through the park by the beach in order to do that though. When Alex stopped. Something had caught his eyes. He looked over toward the beach.

I stopped and looked at him. " What is it?" I had asked. "There's something down there.." He said almost quiet. It confused me because he was never usually this quiet unless something was really wrong. Before I could stop him he went down to the beach. "Alex! Hey wait!" I called. He just looked back and shhhed. He continued down the beach. I could barely make it out but there seemed to be a dark figure there. Dressed in a black leather trenchcoat. I couldn't see his or her face because they had a hood up.

I started following Alex. Both to drag him away and to see who this person was at the same time. Alex was getting closer to this figure. Why? I wondered that. Why was he using this fraction of time on a stranger he did not know? Someone that perhaps was just watching the ocean... At... Night.

I saw the figure turn their head slightly toward Alex. Alex stiffened slightly but he did not move. He had this strange facial expression. That kept changing with every passing moment. As if the figure was mutely talking to him, and that he could hear it.

Alex growled slightly. " What the hell does that mean!" He yelled out of the blue. And I froze slightly behind him. I wondered at the time, what he was talking about. Was the figure speaking to him in a way that I could not hear?

Then, suddenely, the figure made a hand gesture. And a strange little black creature appeared. It was short, had a frog like appearance, with antennas. It was black with yellow eyes. It's appearance screamed evil. Alex made a face and stepped away. " What is that thing!" He demanded. I watched as it circled around us. My eyes on it at every moment.

Then suddenely it came at us so fast I couldn't even blink. Whether it was coming at me or Alex didn't matter, because Alex got in the way anyways. The black thing tackling him, and before either of us could react, it shoved it's little hand inside Alex's chest, without injuring the skin or making it bleed, right where his heart was. His eyes became hazy, and in a silent instant, he disappeared inside a vortex of darkness. The attacking creature dissapeared and I could see that an orb was coming from where Alex had been and I reached to touch it, it dissapeared inside my palm and seemed to spread through me.

The figure dissapeared as the vortex that swallowed Alex dissapeared as if it was never there. I was angry, sad, and lost. I collasped to my knees. " ALEX!" I screamed as loud as my lungs allowed.

**_

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Now _**

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My eyes shot open as I sat up on the couch. A drop of sweat on my forehead. I covered my face with my hand. That dream.. It was no fantasy dream people have. That was a memory. One that so often I would try to forget. That was a year ago this day. But now I was 19 and still hiding my grief from that night. I looked at the clock, which now said 6:45 PM. 

I looked outside before turning on the TV and going into the kitchen that was in the same room so I could make dinner and watch TV at the same time. I started cooking some chicken. Watching television. It was currently on the music channel. That singer Kelly Clarkson was on. And she was singing a song that was perhaps what I felt right now. "Because of You". I sighed and turned it off.

After dinner I took a shower and went into my bedroom. I sat on my bed a few minutes, looking over out the window. Perhaps to look for a sign of what I should do next. I sighed sadly and and layed back in my bed, turning off my lamp. Attemping to fall asleep. Trying to hold back my tears from remembering that dreadful day.

The day Alex died.

**_

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End of Chapter 1 _**

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Author: 3 pages long! Yes! I try to make my chapters at LEAST more than 3 pages. And I think this will be a good start to this story.  
Next up! Chapter 2! **_

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"Got it memorized?"  
_**


	2. His new mission

Author's: Here we go again!  
Disclaimer: It's in the first chapter, I'm NOT repeating myself.  
Claimer: This is in the first chapter too...

_

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Memories without a heart.  
A heart without Memories.  
You're a Nobody looking for your past.  
Do you remember your **TRUE **name..? _

**

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_Chain Øf Hearts_  
_Chapter 2: His new mission _ **

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Two pairs of emerald green eyes opened at a dark ceiling. He sat up. Red bangs falling infront of his eyes. Despite the way that he was sleeping during the night, his hair was still in the same style it usually was. He looked so much like a hedge hog. He brushed a bang from his face with his black gloved hand. Apparently he had slept in his normal clothes. Which were all the same color. 

He swung over to the edge of his bed and stood up stretching. He had black boots, black pants, black shirt, black gloves, and a really nice looking black leather trenchcoat that was zipped down to just above his knee level. He had a silver chain thing that went across his chest, attached to his hood, in the shape of an "M". He had a black tattoo like tear below each of his eyes.

He took a comb and then took it through his hair quickly. Not that it mattered since his hair style never changed no matter what he did. He sighed, admitting defeat to his comb before going out of his room into the hallway of where he lived, and worked. He walked past some people he knew, others wearing the exact same outfit, in different sizes of course, as he was. Some had their hoods up, while others preferred their hoods down.

"Hey, Axel!" Called someone from behind him. The redhead looked back to see his caller. He went blank. " Hi, Demyx.." He said. _Why did he have to come bother me now of all times..? I mean... It's bad enough he tries to pin his missions on me so he doesn't have to do the ones that involve fighting, but bothering me **every **morning just gets annoying after awhile... _He thought.

" Morning, Axel... Uhm... I was wondering... did you look at the mission's board yet?" Demyx asked. The redhead now known as Axel stared at him blankly. "I just woke up, so it's obvious I haven't yet.." He said boredly. Silently praying for Demyx to go away.

"Oh well.. I see.. But.. Can you do this one little favor for me..?" He asked. Axel sighed. " If it's another mission then the answer is no..." He answered point blank. Demyx blinked. " Waaaaah? Why not?" He whined. Axel sighed and made funny hand gestures with his hand as he spoke. " You do it yourself, I am not your maid, your a member of Organization XIII.. You are also a **_retard_**.." Tapped his forehead with his index finger. " Got it memorized..?" He asked. And with that, he left Demyx, who was confused and dumbfounded in the middle of the hallway.

* * *

Axel made his way to the **Mission's Board**. He sighed in irritation as he looked at it. Searching through for a particular kind of mission. Sometimes Axel's boss would give a member a mission by order. Other times people could volunteer. It depended on how important the mission was. Many a time was Demyx chosen for the wrong kind of mission, which was why he so often tried to give it to Axel as a _favor. _

So today Axel was looking to volunteer for a mission. None of them seemed very interesting, though. Usually there was at least one **_interesting _**mission. But today none of them seemed to interest him the slightest bit. But that was before Saix, another member, came up to him. " Hey, Axel... Xemnas wants to see you.. he says he's got a mission for you.." He said.

Saix had light blue hair that went down 2 inches past his shoulder. His eyes somewhat red. He was slightly broader than Axel was. And he had a scar across his face in an X shape. Axel stared at him blankly. Yes he heard him but he hated Saix, just as much as Saix hated him.

"Very well..." Axel said blankly before going past Saix to see his boss. He wondered what the mission couch have been about? It didn't really matter, as long as he had something to do to pass the time of boring day. Even a member of Organization XIII had their moments of complete boredom. Yes, even Axel had them.

* * *

Axel entered the room where his boss spent most of his time. He walked past some other members who were just doings walks out of boredom. He looked up ahead of him at the man known as his boss. " Did you want something, Xemnas..?" Axel asked calmly as he stood still. 

The figure turned to face him, he lifted his hands and removed his hood. Hi hair was white, his skin was slightly tanned and his eyes were and amber colored yellow. He looked at Axel giving a slight smile, though not a friendly one, it looked more sadistic. " Well, hello Axel.. I see you got Saix's message..?" He asked. Axel just nodded. _Quit with the formal talk old man and give me my mission so I can get it over with already... _He thought.

"What's the mission..?" Axel asked, trying to speed things up. Xemnas folded his arms. " Impatient aren't we..? Tsk Tsk.." He said, a slight smirk. Axel sighed, rolling his eyes. " Let's skip the formalities, sir... And cut to the chase.. what's my mission?" Axel asked again.

Xemnas finally had to give him what he wanted and looked up at the ceiling. " Well... for starters.. there's been alot of things happening in this one world town... What I need you to do is to-" But Axel interrupted. "- Check it out for you..? What a boring mission.." He said. " Maybe you should give this one to Demyx..." Axel offered. Xemnas sighed. "You didn't let me finish.." He said. Then thought of something. " I heard that where Roxas is... So I decided to choose you for this mission.." Whatever words came after the name Roxas weren't heard by Axel one bit.

"I'll do it.." He said, interrupting whatever else Xemnas said. Who smirked slightly again. "Very well... I knew you would.." He said. Axel looked up at him. " What's the name of this town..?" Axel asked, eager to leave. The name Roxas meant alot to him. More than anything else in the world.

Xemnas watched him curiously before replying with a hand gesture that said "Simple". He looked at Axel. " The town is called... Kodani..." Xemnas said simply. Waiting for some sort of reaction from Axel or whatever. Axel rose a brow. " Kodani..?" He asked. _Why does that name sound so familiar? _He wondered. _Oh what the hell does it matter! If it means I can find Roxas I'll go! _

"Alright... I'll be going... so you want me to check out the weird things that have been going on, while at the same time look for Roxas..?" Axel asked. Xemnas nodded. " Precisely.. Let me know what you've learned and anything else that happens during your visit in Kodani, your dismissed, Axel.." Said Xemnas turning and facing the window behind him. Axel nodded with a respectful bow of the head before turning and going out.

While out in the hall Axel created a dark portal. He closed his eyes for a moment while it had formed. _Why does the name Kodani sound so familiar to me..? _He wondered once again. Then he just grunted and shrugged. _Oh well, it doesn't matter right now... The important thing is I might have a clue as to where Roxas is... _He thought, before walking into the portal. It disappeared behind him as soon as he stepped through.

* * *

Axel stepped out of the portal into a town. " So this is Kodani.." he said quietly, while putting up his hood. " A nice place... So quiet though..." He grunted and walked on as the portal disappeared into thin air. 

Taking a look around, Axel noticed that it was a pretty big town. Not only that but there were people walking about the sidewalks, the nearby park, the beach, kids playing togeth- Wait a minute, a beach? Axel looked over at the beach and walked toward it. Standing on the sand and looking out at the sunrise. Suddenely a bolt of deja vew hit him.

Why did this seem so familiar to him? It shouldn't have, he didn't even remember this town. So why did it feel like he had known if forever when it was obvious he didn't? The question lingered awhile.

The silence of standing there, hood still up, as he watched the sunrise, was overwelming. However it didn't last long cause he had heard a sharp intake of breath behind him. He looked back slightly, making sure his hood was up enough so it wouldn't come done or show the slightest hint of his identity.

On the nearby sidewalk stood a girl, with blue shoulderlength hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing a white summer dress that went down an inch above her knees. Her eyes on him for several moments. He kept the gaze. Curious at this person for staring at him like this. Then the silence between them was broken.

"You.." She said quietly, but audible, her eyes narrowing. " Your that guy, aren't you!" She yelled at him with a glare. Axel was confused slightly but furhter interested by her accusation. _What guy..? _He wondered to himself.

"What guy...?" He asked, curiously. She growled at him. " Your the one, aren't you! The one who killed him! Aren't you, aren't you!" She yelled, angerily. Axel was further interested and curious.

"Kill? Kill who..?" He asked another question, surely her answers could help him. _Who's the one? Who killed who? _He wondered once more.

"Your the guy who killed Alex, aren't you!" She accused. Axel blinked under his hood, without notice. _Alex..? Who the hell is Alex? _He inquired himself. " I think you might be mistaken Miss.. I don't know any **_Alex..._**" He said calmly.

"You must be! I'd never mistaken that trenchcoat!" She yelled, clenching fists in balls of rage. _Trenchcoat..? Someone from the Organization must be responcible for this... _He thought. Then straightened slightly.

" I'm not the only guy with a trenchcoat-" He was interrupted. "-Then who killed Alex a year ago, hmm! He was killed in this very beach! Do you know! Who killed my best friend!" She demanded.

Axel was dumbstruck for the first time in his whole memory bank. _A year ago... hmm... I doubt the Organization would kill someone... Maybe turn them into a Nobody too by summoning a heartless... It does make it look like someone's dieing.. However... I would have known this **Alex **if there was one in our organization... _He thought.

"Your mistaken.. this is the very first time I've been to this town, girl... now please continue on with your buisiness... I got things I need to do while I'm here.." He tapped his forehead, through his hood, with his index finger. " Got it memorized..?" He asked.

The girl's eyes widened slightly, as if his last sentence struck her. Then they narrowed again. " My name isn't **_Girl _**it's Hikari..." She scowled.

Axel just shrugged. " Like I would know..?" He asked. The girl known as Hikari glared before looking away. "Whatever your buisiness is.. hurry up, do it, and then get out..." She said fiercly before she started walking on.

Axel was curious. " What a wierd girl..." He said quietly to himself. He looked to where he was standing, to the sand.. _If he was confronted by a member right here... Then maybe I can figure out what happened... Did they just take his heart? Kill him? What..? _He wondered. He looked back at the sunrise before walking away from the beach to continue his mission, all the while, for some odd reason, thinking about that girl's words.

**_

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End of Chapter 2 _**

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Author: Yay chapter 2 is finished! onto chapter 3! Weee! **_

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"Got it memorized?" _**


	3. Lost Memories

Author: Chapter 3. Yaaaaaaay!  
Disclaimer: Tis in first chapter.  
Claimer: tis also in first chapter (This the last time I write that)

A friend helped me write this chapter in roleplay mode awhile back =D, so the point of view tends to change slightly.

* * *

  
Written by: Aya Hinata and DarkHolic  
Aka: Rei and Ami

Proof-read and Edited into Story Mode by: Aya Hinata

The second half of it's all written by me, though. I'll let you know when you get to that part.

Thank you all reviewers. Here's the updated you wanted. It's late but I hope you still don't kill me ^_^;;

_  


* * *

  
Memories without a heart.  
A heart without Memories.  
You're a Nobody looking for your past.  
Do you remember your __**TRUE **__name..?  
_

_**

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C**__**hain Øf Hearts**__**  
**__  
Chapter 3: Lost memories_

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Axel continued walking around the town of Kodani, hood still up. He was still puzzled over what that girl Hikari had said, all the while, at the same time, he was searching for Roxas, and whatever other mission he had to take care of here. It was hard to know, since Xemnas tended to change or edit missions every five minutes.

The guy that Hikari had just encountered. It seemed oddly familiar somehow. His voice, the way he was sort of acting... but she couldn't quite place her fingers on it. 'Who is he?! I must know.. I'm sure he has answers......!' Without thinking she decided to stalk him from a safe distance.

Axel didn't notice her following him and just kept walking, looking around. "Man it's temperate in this town isn't it..?" he murmured to himself.

She hid behind a random building, keeping a sharp eye on him. She quickly ran behind another building, trying to keep up a pace with him. She didn't want to lose him. He could be the key to what had happened to her friend, Alex, and she had no intentions of letting that kind of chance slip by her.

"Gah.. I give up for now... he's not even HERE.." He grumbled. He waited 'til he saw no one, or thought no one was around to see, before opening up a dark vortex portal with his hand. The vortex may seemed to have been forbidding but at the same time it coaxed those who saw it to go through. Axel slowly went into it. No one was around to see it, he imagined, so he doubted anybody would see it and jump in.

Hikari's eyes widened when she saw Axel open up the vortex. Without thinking, she quickly ran up behind him and jumped into the portal, also. She had no idea what the portal was, or where it would take her, but she was determined to find out, one way or another.

Axel stepped out into the hallway of the Organization's headquarters. He sighed to himself. "All that... For nothing.." he said to himself. He started to walk as he lifted his hands to his hood to take it off. He did so very slowly, to get hair out without ripping the hood, itself. He hadn't lifted it off, yet, but his fingers were in position to.

Hikari had walked through the vortex and came into a place she didn't recognize. She saw Axel walking off into the distance and silently followed him. _Come on, _she thought to herself. _Give me some kind of clue..._ As he walked, She saw the man take down his hood to reveal the back of his head. He did not yet seem to notice her as he continued walking down the corridor.

But he seemed so familiar now. Her eyes widen in pure shock, she recognized the back of his head. "ALEX!" She yelped, without actually thinking, and she quickly covered her mouth and hid behind a pillar. _Crap!!! _she thought to herself.

He stopped. he looked back revealing his face. " What? How the hell did you get here?!" He yelled seeing her. The pillar wasn't particularly wide, and at the angle he was at, not that hard to see around.

_Oh my god.. That's Alex! But.. How is that even possible? He died a year ago... So how can..?_ She thought after seeing his whole face. She was still hiding behind the pillar, even though hiding behind it was absolutely useless. _But why doesn't he remember me? It's not a particularly easy to see me at his angle, but I haven't really changed much in the past year... Have I? _At the thought, her eyes sadden. "What has happened to you...?" She whispered to herself, leaning against the pillar and then sliding to her knees. Sadly, she sat up against the pillar and pulled her knees to her chest.

Axel practically broke the pillar she was hiding behind with just his gloved fist. Nobody's were, in general, very strong. "You followed me here?!" He asked, glaring down at the girl in front of him.

She quickly stood up in complete shock. "... A-Alex!" She stammered, frightened. "Y-You don't remember me? It's me, Hikari!" She exclaimed. As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

"Excuse me..?" He asked, raising a. eyebrow. "I'm sorry. You must be mistaken, because the name's Axel... Got it memorized?"

"No! You're _**not**_ Axel! You're _**Alex**_!** You **get it memorized!" Hikari snapped. She couldn't believe this. He looked like Alex, sounded like Alex, and even had his fashion sense! He had to be him, and his denial was just making her even more upset and pissed off.

"Do you think it's appropriate to just show up and tell someone who they are and who they aren't when they know perfectly well who they are..?" Axel asked with narrowed eyes. Who was this girl? She seemed to get more and more delusional every time he saw her.

".....Do you think it's appropriate to forget a very close friend? To forget who they truly are?! I _**know**_ you're Alex.... I _**know**_ who you truly are and you are not this "_Axel_".... All you did was just switch the X and L around....." Hikari said, staring at him. He was still taller, though, so it was hard to see eye-to-eye.

"You are one sad little human.." He sighed, shaking his head. "Just because I look like someone, it doesn't mean I'm them.. Now get out.. You and the rest of your kind do not belong here.." He said, putting his hand out to the side, and creating a vortex. The same vortex, Hikari realized, that swallowed Alex a year ago.

Hikari stopped him from opening the vortex completely, stopping it mid-open. "I'm not going anywhere without you!!" She said, as stubborn as she could be. She came this far to find him, and she wasn't going to leave just like that.

Axel sighed, clearly irritated by the stubborness of this woman. Could she not see that he wasn't this "Alex" person? He grabbed her wrist, creating another one, and this time finishing it before she could stop him. He went behind her and practically pushed her through with ease. Nobodies had great strength and power so he used very little effort in the action.

"No!" Hikari yelled, with a growl. She was able to grab him by his arm and nearly pulled him into the vortex with her. "You're not going to leave me!" She yelled, glaring at him.

However, Axel was still stronger than she was. So twisting his arm a certain way, he was able to get out of her hold. Axel shoved her into the portal, quickly snapping his fingers to make the vortex close before she could get back out of it.

"No!" Hikari screamed. She was thrown back into Kodani by the portal, stumbling onto the ground, as if still being shoved. She managed to catch herself, and avoided falling. Standing up straight, she looked back as the portal closed completely. The breath slowly came out of her mouth in a ragged manner. _He's gone... Now what am I going to do? _She slowly collapsed to the ground, tears filling her eyes, again. She stared at where the portal had been, and began crying slightly. _Alex... Alex, how could you? How could you forget me? Were you pretending to have..? Why would you? How could you? How could you betray me like that?_ She wondered.

Hikari closed her eyes, tightly, the tears flowing down her cheeks. "Why?!" she cried.

(A/N: Okay, now it's all me.)

Axel sighed as the portal had finished closing. She was gone now. He folded his arms. "Who was that girl? Why does she keep calling me Alex, for?" he muttered. "I have no idea who she is, or who this Alex is. But I better get to the bottom of it before I ever run into her, again. I can't go back to Kodani if I'm constantly being hounded by her," he added. Nodding to himself, he headed down the hallway. As he did, he began thinking to himself. _What if she's right though? What if I am this __**Alex**__ she claims me to be? _he wondered. _I've no memory of my life before becoming a Nobody, but that doesn't mean the people I left behind forgot. _He sighed.

Why was he even thinking about all of this? Why did it even matter? If he was Alex, then he still couldn't, wouldn't, go back to any of his old life. He'd remain in the Organization even after all that. What would an old friend matter?

"It's useless to think about," Axel muttered to himself. "This is the new me. The old me is dead, whoever he was."

He headed for his room, where he could relax and mull things over. He closed the door behind him with his foot, and walked over to his bed. Even Nobody's slept (Roxas is proof). He fell backwards onto his back, head hitting the pillow. He kicked his boots off and folded his arms under the back of his head. Sighing, he closed his eyes. "Alex, hm," he murmured, still thinking about it. How couldn't he? It was hard to just forget about that sort of thing. Every Nobody who didn't know their true self would want to know who they were. "I guess it works," Axel mused. "Though I highly doubt that_** that **_is who I truly am."

Slowly, Axel drifted off to sleep, boredom and exhaustion being the main causes of it.

He had a dream.

((This is basically Hikari's dream in the first chapter, only in Axel's point of view. It's a bit different, with some more detail. You can skip it, though, if you want))

Summer Vacation was barely even started, and he was 18. He was walking beside a dear friend of his. She had short blue hair, with blue eyes to match it. He always teased her about her hair, and she always returned that teasing. She used to call him "Alex the Hedgehog" when they were little. Due to their hair colors, people always referred to them with the nicknames of Fire and Ice. Alex being Fire and her being Ice.

He loved the color black and red. Understandable really since he was always a punk at heart. Hikari loved other colors, like blue and white. She was always lighthearted, and always understood his sense of fashion. And they were best friends... Until the very end.

It was night, and they were walking back home. They lived right next door to each other so it was no biggy. The big "Girl Next Door" cliche. In order to get home, though, they had to go through the park by the beach. It was a nice night, however, so walking through there was no big deal. They went through this way all the time. They were just walking, talking about anything and everything, when Alex stopped. Something had caught his eye. He looked over towards the beach. _What's that? _he wondered.

Hikari stopped and looked at him. "What is it?" She had asked. "There's something down there.." He answered, almost quiet. Too quiet. It confused her, he saw. Probably because he was never usually this quiet unless something was really wrong. It was an old habit, but it made good for a warning. Before she could stop him, he went down towards the beach. "Alex! Hey wait!" she called. He just looked back and her and shushed with his index finger to his lips. He continued down to the beach. He could barely make it out but there seemed to be a dark figure there, dressed in a black leather trench coat. Alex couldn't see his or her face, due to the fact that they had a hood up.

He hear Hikari starting to follow behind him. Probably to both drag him away, and to also see who this person was at the same time. Alex was getting closer to this figure with each and every step. _Who is this person_? He wondered. _And why are they here? Watching the ocean? At.. Night?_

He saw the figure turn their head slightly toward him. _**Who are you? **_a voice asked in his mind. Alex stiffened slightly and did not move. His expression turned to shock, and then to confusion. _Who are you? Where's that voice coming from? _He asked in thought. _**From the person in front of you, of course. **_The male voice answered. He watched the hooded figure incline his head. As if the voice really was coming from him, and could hear what Alex was thinking.

_How are you doing that? _He asked, nervously, his body shuttering and his eyes widening slightly in surprise. _How are you talking to me, hearing what I'm thinking? _Who was this person?

_**Never you mind that, Alex. There's no time to explain all that. Not yet, at least. You seem like a good candidate for the job. I think I won't mind keeping you.**_

Alex growled slightly. "What the hell does that mean?!" He yelled, a loud instead of in thought. He sensed Hikari freeze mid step behind him. He wondered, for a split second, what she was thinking about, watching all of this. Wondering why he yelled out of the blue when the figure obviously hadn't said anything a loud. Apparently, the figure wasn't speaking to her, and just to him alone.

Then, suddenly, the figure made a hand gesture, drawing Alex's attention back to him. A strange little black creature appeared. It was short, had a frog like appearance, and also had antennas. It was black with yellow eyes. Its appearance screamed evil, seeming to have a dark aura to it. Alex made a face of disgust and stepped away from it.

"What is that thing!" He demanded. He watched as it circled around him and Hikari. Both their eyes stayed on it at every second.

Then suddenly it came at them so fast, neither could even blink. Whether it was coming at Alex or at Hikari didn't matter, because Alex got in the way, anyways. The black thing tackled him, the small creature sending them both toppling to the ground. Despite its size, it was very strong. Before either of them could react, it shoved its little hand inside Alex's chest, all without injuring the skin or making it bleed, right in the location where his heart was. Blackness stretched out from the creature's hand, spreading around Alex's body. He felt his body becoming hollow, and something inside him seemed to disappear.

His eyes became hazy, and in a silent instant, he disappeared inside a vortex of darkness that appeared around his body. Before he knew it, he was in a place entirely surrounded by darkness. There was no sound. No gravity. He felt all his emotions slipping away from him, disappearing somewhere he could not reach no matter how hard he tried to hold onto them. No sound came from his lips as he started calling for help. His lips moved, but nothing came out. He looked down at his chest, his hair waving around in the place with no gravity.

He saw a heart rise from his chest. It floated above him, and then disappeared into the darkness. The hollowness increased, and he felt his energy slipping entirely. _Is this... What it's like.... To die? _He wondered.

From somewhere he could not see, he heard the sound of somebody screaming his name.

"ALEX!" Screamed the familiar feminine voice. The word faded with an echo as his eyes slipped close.

_Forgive me... Hikari. _He wondered, and his mind slipped into complete darkness.

--

Axel's eyes opened and he bolted straight into a sitting position. He stared wide-eyed at the spot in front of him. "What.. The hell... Was that?" He gasped out. Axel had had some real weird dreams before, but this one, in and off itself, was just nuts. He had to do something. Now.

Axel got up and shoved his feet into his boots. He put his hood over his head and headed for the door. That dream sparked questions. He needed answers.

And he needed them now.

* * *

-Fin-

* * *

  
Author's Note: Yaaay! It's finally out! After... A year! Woot! It's probably not that good, but... Hey, I did it =D Enjoy people, it's back!  
R&R, and let me know you're all reading. XD  
Suggestions welcome!


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